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World Bowls Tour

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World Bowls Tour
AbbreviationWBT
Websitewww.worldbowlstour.org

The World Bowls Tour is an organisation which promotes indoor bowls and organises competitions (primarily in the United Kingdom), including the World Indoor Bowls Championships.[1]

History

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In 1990 the sport was under a period of fragmentation following the loss of the television coverage connected with the World Indoor Bowls Championships. John Hall the President of the English Bowls Association unsuccessfully called for closer co-operation between the indoor and outdoor game.[2] In 1992, a player led organisation formed the Professional Bowls Association, during the 1992 World Indoor Bowls Championship, which were held in the Preston Guildhall to promote indoor Bowls worldwide and on television.

On 1 January 1997, under the then chairman Richard Corsie, the PBA created the World Bowls Tour and after the 1997 championship replaced the World Indoor Bowls Council as the leading indoor organisation.[3] The purpose of the World Bowls Tour was to set up and create championships and competitions to further the aims of the PBA.[4]

Structure

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Position Name
Chairperson David Bolt
Tournament Director Tom Weir
Assistant Tournament Director & Finance Director Martin Gale
Corporate Director Jason Parkinson

Awards

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Events

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Current and former indoor bowls competitions organised by the World Bowls Tour.[5]

World Indoor Bowls Championships

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Scottish International Open

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The International Open (defunct)

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Year Winner Runner-Up Score Ref
1983 England David Bryant (1/2) Scotland Bob Sutherland 7–4 7–3 7–1 [6]
1984 Wales Terry Sullivan England Tony Allcock 5–4 (sets)
1985 Northern Ireland Jim Baker Scotland John Watson 5–7 4–7 7–0 7–3 7–3 7–6 7–4
1986 Wales Stephen Rees England David Bryant 7–3 7–2 7–0 7–1 2–7 3–7 4–7 4–7 7–0 [7]
1987 England Tony Allcock Northern Ireland David Corkill 7–6 1–7 2–7 7–3 7–0 4–7 7–4 5–7 7–5 [8]
1988 England Gary Smith Scotland Richard Corsie 6–7 7–5 7–5 7–6 7–6 3–7 6–7 7–0 [9]
1989 England David Bryant (2/2) Northern Ireland David Corkill 1–5 5–7 7–6 7–5 7–3 [10]
1991 England Andy Thomson (1/3) England Tony Allcock 6–7 4–7 7–5 7–2 7–1 [11]
1992 England Andy Thomson (2/3) Wales John Price 7–3 3–7 7–5 7–5 [12]
1994 Hong Kong Mark McMahon England Andy Thomson 4–7 7–5 7–3 7–0 [13]
1995 Scotland Hugh Duff Australia Ian Schuback 2–7 7–3 7–4 7–1 [14]
1997 England Les Gillett Scotland David Gourlay 7–5 7–0 6–7 7–4 [15]
1998 Scotland David Gourlay (1/5) Wales John Price 7–0 0–7 7–6 3–7 7–2 [16]
1999 Australia Ian Schuback Scotland David Gourlay 5–7 6–7 7–5 7–3 7–2 [17]
2000 Scotland David Gourlay (2/5) Wales John Price 7–2 7–2 0–7 5–7 7–3 [18]
2001 England Ian Bond England Greg Harlow 7–4 6–8 2–1 [19]
2002 Scotland David Gourlay (3/5) Wales Jason Greenslade 9–7 6–7 2–1 [20]
2003 England Andy Thomson (3/3) England Les Gillett 9–10 13–4 2–1 [21]
2004 England Greg Harlow (1/3) Australia David Gourlay 10–4 4–8 2–0 [22]
2005 England Greg Harlow (2/3) Wales Robert Weale 8–12 10–5 2–0 [23]
2006 England Greg Harlow (3/3) Australia David Gourlay 12–7 10–8 [24]
2007 Scotland Paul Foster (1/2) Wales Jason Greenslade 15–5 5–6 2–1 [25]
2008 Scotland Darren Burnett Australia Brett Wilkie 13–4 10–9 [26]
2009–2012 not held
2013 Scotland Alex Marshall England Robert Paxton 10–2 10–1 [27]
2014 Scotland Paul Foster (2/2) Scotland Alex Marshall 9–8 15–3 [28]
2015 England Nick Brett Scotland Alex Marshall 12–4 9–8 [29]
2016 Scotland David Gourlay (4/5) England Jamie Chestney 11–9 10–6 [30]
2017 England Jamie Chestney Scotland Stewart Anderson 9–4 8–6 [31]
2018 Scotland David Gourlay (5/5) England Greg Harlow 11–9 5–9 2–1 [32]
not held since 2018

Sponsors and previous names

  • CIS UK Championship (1983-1993)
  • Saga/BUPA Care Homes International Open (1994-2004)
  • engage International Open (2005-2008)
  • Co-op International Open (2013-2018)

Welsh International Open (defunct)

[edit]
Year Winner Runner-Up
2002 England Les Gillett Wales Robert Weale
2003 England Tony Allcock Scotland David Gourlay
2004 Australia Kelvin Kerkow (1/2) England Andy Thomson
2005 Australia Kelvin Kerkow (2/2) Wales Robert Weale
2006 Wales Jason Greenslade Australia David Gourlay
2007 Scotland Paul Foster Wales Robert Weale
2008 England Mark Royal (1/2) England Greg Harlow
2009 Wales Robert Chisholm England Simon Skelton
2010 Scotland Darren Burnett England Simon Skelton
2011 England Mark Royal (2/2) Scotland David Gourlay
2012 Scotland David Gourlay England Greg Harlow
not held since 2013

Sponsors and previous names

  • Former Names - Welsh Masters / Welsh Grand Prix

World Matchplay (defunct)

[edit]
Year Winner Runner-Up
2007 England Greg Harlow England Mervyn King
2008 England Andy Thomson Scotland Alex Marshall
2009 England Mervyn King Australia David Gourlay
2010 England Ian Bond Wales Jason Greenslade
not held since 2010

Statistics

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Most successful bowlers (singles only)

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Bowler World Indoor Bowls Championships The International Open Scottish International Open Welsh International Open World Match Play Total wins
Scotland Paul Foster 5 2 3 1 - 11
ScotlandAustralia David Gourlay 1 5 2 1 - 9
England Greg Harlow 1 3 3 - 1 8
England Andy Thomson 3 3 1 - 1 8
Scotland Alex Marshall 6 1 - - - 7
England David Bryant 3 2 1 - - 6
England Tony Allcock 3 1 - 1 - 5
Wales John Price 1 4 - - - 5
Scotland Stewart Anderson 2 - 3 - - 5
Scotland Richard Corsie 3 - 1 - - 4
England Nick Brett 1 1 2 - - 4

Youngest Player

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Desmond Lai, at age of 15 (January 2024) from Hong Kong China, in World Bowls Indoor Championships 2024 [33]

References

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  1. ^ "About". World Bowls Tour. 29 October 2015.
  2. ^ Newby, Donald (1990). Daily Telegraph Bowls Yearbook 91. Pan Books Ltd. pp. 8/9. ISBN 0-330-31664-8.
  3. ^ Jones, David Rhys (January 1997). "Jones, David Rhys. "New body defended by Corsie." Times, 1 Jan. 1997, p. 29". The Times. Times Digital Archives. p. 29.
  4. ^ "About WBT". Webpage. WBT/World Bowls Tour. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Competitions and results". World Bowls. 29 October 2015.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Patrick (1986). Guinness Bowls Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 136. ISBN 0-85112-414-3.
  7. ^ Newby, Donald (1988). Bowls Year Book 88. Daily Telegraph. ISBN 0-86367-220-5.
  8. ^ Allan, Gordon (9 November 1987). "A see-saw final won by Allcock". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 48.
  9. ^ Newby, Donald (1989). Bowls Year Book 89. Daily Telegraph. pp. 88/89. ISBN 0-330-31093-3.
  10. ^ Allan, Gordon (6 November 1989). "Masterful display by Bryant". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 36.
  11. ^ "For the Record". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. 27 April 1991.
  12. ^ "Thomson No. 1". The Times. No. 64322. London: Times Digital Archives. 2 May 1992. p. 35.
  13. ^ Jones, David Rhys (3 October 1994). "McMahon magic conjures up title". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 26.
  14. ^ "Singles title for Duff". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. 2 October 1995. p. 26.
  15. ^ Jones, David Rhys (20 October 1997). "Gillett slays cool at finish to win Open". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 27.
  16. ^ "Price falls to Gourlay". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. 2 November 1998. p. 35.
  17. ^ Jones, David Rhys (22 November 1999). "Row takes shine off Schuback triumph". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 30.
  18. ^ "Gourlay confirms high-flying status". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. 20 November 2000. pp. 11[S].
  19. ^ Jones, David Rhys (12 November 2001). "Bond shows aptitude for sudden death to lift title". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. pp. 8[S].
  20. ^ Jones, David Rhys (11 November 2002). "Gourlay retains winning habit". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 36.
  21. ^ Jones, David Rhys (17 November 2003). "Thomson back in the old routine". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 32.
  22. ^ Jones, David Rhys (8 November 2004). "Harlow sees off Gourlay to claim 'career-best' victory". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 69.
  23. ^ Jones, David Rhys (7 November 2005). "Harlow employs his powers of recovery to retain title". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. p. 77.
  24. ^ "Harlow leads way". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. 6 November 2006. p. 70.
  25. ^ "Bowls". The Times. London: Times Digital Archives. 12 November 2007. p. 61.
  26. ^ "WBT International Open - Burgess Hill, West Sussex: Quarter-finals". Bowls. The Times. No. 69495. London: Times Digital Archives. 1 December 2008. p. 61.
  27. ^ "Marshall's First International Open Win". World Bowls Tour.
  28. ^ "Fantastic Foster". Bowls International.
  29. ^ "CONGRATULATIONS TO NICK BRETT". Henselite.
  30. ^ "CO-OPERATIVE FUNERALCARE INTERNATIONAL OPEN DRAW 2016". World Bowls Tour. 27 January 2016.
  31. ^ "CO-OP FUNERALCARE INTERNATIONAL OPEN 2017 SCHEDULE & SCORES". World Bowls Tour. 19 November 2016.
  32. ^ "CFC INTERNATIONAL OPEN 2018 SCHEDULE AND SCORES". World Bowls Tour. 30 January 2018.
  33. ^ World Bowls Tour (16 January 2024). "NUMBER 15 SEED MIKE STEPNEY NEGOTIATES A SAFE PASSAGE INTO THE 2nd ROUND OF THE WORLD INDOOR BOWLS SINGLES". World Bowls Tour. Retrieved 16 January 2024.